JP2013512136A - Coil spring type rail brake - Google Patents

Abstract

The rail brake includes a rigid housing attached to the lower portion of the crane, and a base end portion of the housing is disposed on the upper portion of the rail in the vicinity of the rail. The upper plate is attached to the lower part of the upper end of the housing. The spring pedestal is attached to the lower portion of the upper plate for vertical movement within the movable housing. The spring is mounted between the spring pedestal and the top plate so that when the spring pedestal is raised, the spring is compressed. The brake shoe is attached to the bottom of the pedestal. The actuator is mounted between the spring base and the base end of the housing. The extension of the actuator compresses the spring and raises the brake shoe from the rail. By retraction of the spring, the spring drives the brake shoe against the rail. The spring and the actuator can be easily exchanged from the opening of the housing. The raising of the brake shoe allows inspection and maintenance of the brake shoe.
[Selection] Figure 2b

Description

  The present invention relates to the field of rail brakes, and more particularly, to an improved coil spring rail brake that provides improved access to spring assemblies and brake shoes and easy maintenance and repair.

  In the prior art, applicants are aware of various rail brake designs. Specifically, applicants are aware of the following US patents:

  U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,270 relating to rail brakes issued to Davis on April 27, 1897 discloses the use of coil springs. By fixing the coil spring to the lever bar, the lever bar and the brake shoe attached below it are held away from the rail of the track.

  U.S. Pat. No. 1,790,202 relating to a magnetic brake device issued to Down on Jan. 27, 1931 discloses a magnetic brake shoe. The magnetic brake shoe is normally held in a suspended state away from the rail, but is attracted to the rail when energized and acts as a brake. A coil spring is disposed in the chamber and acts on the piston to normally maintain the brake shoe in a suspended position on the rail.

  U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,925 relating to a mounting device for a magnetic rail brake, issued to Ignawareics on April 22, 1975, discloses a spring shock absorber by reducing the air pressure in a conventional looseness. The device discloses compressing the bellows downward until the bellows stops at a low position. In its low position, the brake magnet can be energized and attracted to the rail, thereby further compressing the spring damper. Raising the magnetic unit to a high position by applying pressure to the looseness corrects the vertical setting of the magnetic brake unit. Thus, the height of the magnetic unit on the rail can be adjusted.

US Pat. No. 5,812,270 US Pat. No. 1,790,202 U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,925

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rail brake that presents at least one or more of the following features.
a) The brake shoe of the rail brake can be replaced without removing the entire rail brake assembly from the crane or other rail mounted machine that mounts the rail brake.
b) Do not remove the rail brake assembly from the crane or other rail mounted machine with rail brakes, both when the brakes are applied or when the brakes are released and the rail brake springs are in the cage In addition, the rail brake actuator can be removed for repair.
c) When the spring is in the cage, the spring and top plate can be removed from the rail brake housing in a modular fashion without removing the housing from the crane or other rail mounted machine.

  The rail brake according to the present invention includes a rigid housing that has an upper end and an opposite proximal end that is securely attached to the upper end. The upper end is adapted to be attached to the lower part of a rail mounted machine, such as a crane, so that the proximal end of the housing is located close to the upper part of the rail. The upper plate is attached to a lower portion of the upper end portion of the casing, and is spaced apart and substantially parallel to the upper end portion of the casing, thereby defining a gap between the upper plate and the upper end portion of the casing.

  A spring pedestal is attached to the lower part of the upper plate between the raised and lowered positions for vertical movement within the housing. At least one spring is mounted between the spring pedestal and the top plate so that the spring is compressed when the spring pedestal is in the raised position and the spring is depressurized when the spring pedestal is in the lowered position. Is done. At least one brake shoe is attached to the lower portion of the pedestal, thereby being disposed on the opposite side of the pedestal relative to the spring.

  At least one selectively actuable actuator is each mounted between the spring pedestal and the proximal end of the housing to support the opposite ends. The actuator is operable between an extended position and a retracted position. In the extended position, the spring pedestal is in the raised position and the brake shoe is correspondingly retracted upward. In the retracted position, the spring pedestal is in the lowered position and the brake shoe is correspondingly in the lowered position, so that it is biased by the spring and frictionally engaged with the rail.

  The housing includes a side portion extending between the upper end portion and the proximal end portion. At least one of the sides is open, allowing the spring pedestal, top plate, spring and / or actuator to be easily removed from the opening.

  The spring pedestal may also include an elongated casing member. The caging member includes opposing first and second ends. The caging member is attached to the spring pedestal at its first end and extends generally parallel to the spring. The second end of the caging member extends upward through the opening of the upper plate and freely moves vertically in the gap, and the spring base moves correspondingly in the housing, simultaneously with the caging member. And move accordingly. The second end of the caging member projects into a spring-caging position within the gap when the spring pedestal is in the raised position.

  The selectively releasable lock secures the second end of the caging member in a spring-caging position and prevents movement of the caging member and spring pedestal. The lock may include a latch member, in which case the caging member includes a latch receptacle for releasably holding the latch member when the caging member is in a spring-caging position. The brake shoe can be removed when the spring pedestal is in the raised position.

  In a preferred embodiment, the spring pedestal also includes a bearing member corresponding to the position of the top surface of the actuator such that the actuator supports the bearing member. The bearing member may include a pair of substantially opposed bearing members that extend at right angles to the actuator. The actuator may be a corresponding pair of actuators that extend substantially parallel to the spring.

  The pedestal moves the brake set distance between the raised position and the lowered position, and the actuator activates the corresponding working distance between its extended position and its retracted position. The actuator also selectively raises the spring pedestal to an unlocked position that is higher than the raised position of the pedestal, thereby releasing the spring load applied to the latch member of the latch receiver. When the spring force is released, the latch member can be removed from the latch receptacle.

  The latch member may include a fork, in which case the latch receiver includes an edge on the caging member. The edge may be a substantially annular edge. The edge may be formed from the collar of a caging member. The latch member is elongated and may be mounted substantially horizontally to move horizontally and engage at the bottom of the edge.

  In one embodiment, the spacer defines a vertical separation within the gap between the upper end of the housing and the top plate. The vertical separation distance is substantially equal to the distance that the spring base moves between the lowered position and the raised position. The separation distance is approximately equal to the distance that the spring pedestal moves between the lowered position and the unlocked position when the caging member is further raised so that the corresponding latch can be released.

  The spring may be a pair of helical coil springs and the caging member may be a pair of elongated shafts. The elongated shaft extends through the corresponding spring.

  The brake shoe may be attached to the bottom of the pedestal so that it is approximately equidistant when measured horizontally between the pair of springs, thereby equalizing the downward spring force that the spring applies to the brake shoe. Distribute.

  In the drawings forming a part of this specification, like numerals designate corresponding parts in the respective drawings.

It is a partial cutaway side view showing one embodiment of a coil spring type rail brake by the present invention. 1b is a front view of the rail brake of FIG. 1a. FIG. 1b is a plan view of the rail brake of FIG. FIG. 1b is a partial cut-away side view of the rail brake of FIG. 1a showing the rail brake housing with the pair of helical coil springs removed. 2b is a front view of the rail brake of FIG. 2a. FIG. 2b is a plan view of the rail brake of FIG. 2a. FIG. It is the figure which attached the rail brake of FIG. 1b to a rail mounting type machine, and shows the place suspended on a rail in the state which released the brake. Fig. 3a shows the rail brake of Fig. 3a at the nominal rail height and in the brake setting position. FIG. 3b shows the rail brake in the brake setting position when the rail dimensional tolerance is +2 mm. FIG. 3b shows the rail brake in the brake setting position when the rail dimensional tolerance is −2 mm. Fig. 3b shows the rail brake spring of Fig. 3a in the cage.

  The rail brake according to the present invention is attached to the lower part of a rail-mounted machine such as the crane 10. There is a space between the crane and the rail, and a rigid housing is attached to the space. The top plate of the housing is bolted to the bottom of the crane, thereby placing the bottom of the housing close to the rail to which the brake is applied. A modular spring and actuator mechanism is housed in the housing. As will be described in detail below, the spring and / or actuator can be removed from the housing through the housing opening for repair. In a preferred embodiment of the actuator, a pair of actuators are attached to the housing and act on the spring mechanism. The spring mechanism includes a pair of helical coil springs 12. In one embodiment, the pair of helical coil springs 12 exerts a pressure capacity of 470 kilonewtons downward and drives one or more brake shoes 14 attached to the lower part of the spring mechanism downward. Specifically, the brake shoe 14 attached to the shoe rod 16 is driven downward to frictionally engage the upper surface of the rail 18. The brake shoe 14 is fixed to the shoe rod 16 by a bolt 16a, and the bolt 16a is engaged through a hole in the metal clip 16b. Therefore, when the brake shoe is lifted to the upper part of the rail, the worn brake shoe can be replaced without removing the housing or a part of the housing from the crane.

  Inside the spring mechanism, the coil springs 12 are maintained in a spaced apart parallel arrangement by rigid supports. The rigid support is attached to include the top and bottom of the spring, specifically the spring retainer 20 supports the bottom of the spring and the top plate assembly 22 supports the top of the spring. The spring retainer 20 includes a wall 20a formed to surround the bottom of the spring 12, and a vertically upstanding cylindrical caging member or guide 20b extending upwardly within a cavity defined by the wall 20a. In the state where the spring 12 is installed in the spring holding portion 20, the guide 20b extends upward through the center of the spiral coil of the spring. The upper surface of the guide 20b is close to the bottom surface of the upper plate assembly 22 when the spring 12 is fully compressed, as will be described in detail later. The central guide member 20c extends upward between the springs and functions as a locking portion for the upper plate assembly 22 to prevent over-compression of the springs. This is because over-compression of the spring can damage the spring. The upper part of the central guide member 20c acts as a spacer in combination with the upper plate to prevent this over compression.

  The caging pin 24 is firmly attached to the upper end of the guide 20b and protrudes vertically above the guide 20b. Since the shaft portion 24 a of the pin 24 passes through a corresponding opening 22 a formed in the upper plate assembly 22, when the spring 12 is compressed or extended, the caging pin 24 attached to the guide 20 b is moved to the upper plate assembly 22. Rises or falls, respectively.

  The spring 12 and the spring support provided by the spring pedestal, such as the spring retainer 20, are all mounted in a rigid housing 26. The housing 26 is attached to the space between the machine bottom surface and the rail with respect to the bottom surface of the rail-mounted machine, such as the bottom surface of the crane 10. The upper plate assembly 22 is fixed to the spacer 22b attached to the lower part of the top plate 26a of the housing 26 with bolts. The housing 26 includes a top plate 26a, a side wall or a support frame 26b (hereinafter collectively referred to as a wall), and a rigid base portion 26c that is firmly supported by the wall below the top plate 26a. The spring assembly includes a pair of springs 12, a spring holding portion 20, and an upper plate assembly 22, and is mounted in a housing 26. Therefore, after removing the brake shoe assembly and removing the sprung plate assembly 22 from the spacer 22b under the top plate 26a by removing the bolt 30, the spring assembly is removed from the opening on the side of the housing, that is, the housing. It may be removed through a wall opening.

  The cavity or space 28 is maintained between the upper plate assembly 22 and the top plate 26a of the housing 26 by the spacer 22b. Due to the presence of the space 28, the caging pin 24, that is, the upper end portion of the caging member can be moved vertically. Since the upper plate assembly 22 is fixed to the top plate 26a by the bolts 30 via the spacers 22b, the spring assembly is suspended inside the housing 26 and corresponds to the compression and extension of the spring. When the spring 12 extends, the spring holding portion 20 is pushed downward, and as a result, the brake shoe 14 is urged downward to frictionally engage the rail 18. The pair of actuators 32 may be hydraulic actuators and are attached between the base portion 26c of the housing and the bearing member. The bearing member is a pair of rigid flanges 20c that extend laterally from the spring holding portion 20 and are formed by a cantilever or other method. When the actuator 32 is operated to extend the actuator piston, the actuator 32 drives the spring holding portion 20 upward. This compresses the spring 12 to the fully compressed cage position and raises the brake shoe 14 above the rail 18. As the spring retainer 20 rises and the caging pin 24 rises, the head 24b rises on the shaft 24a and enters the space 28 above the corresponding upper surface of the upper plate assembly 22.

  When the spring is fully compressed by the actuator, for example, if the stroke of the actuator piston is approximately 10 mm, the head 24b will also rise in the space 28 above the corresponding upper surface of the upper plate assembly 22 by the same stroke. For example, a lock or latch including a latch member, such as a fork 34, having a thickness that is approximately the same as the stroke distance, is mounted horizontally for lateral sliding movement, and the fork teeth 34a are attached to the caging pin head 24b. Located at the bottom of the annular edge. The head 24b may be formed to include an annular edge or collar for engaging the fork teeth. Fork 34 may be manually actuated using, for example, a handle or pin 34b. When the spring 12 is fully compressed, the pin 34b is pushed horizontally, inserting the fork 34 into the lower part of the head 24b. By inserting the teeth 34a of the fork 34 into the lower part of the head 24b, the spring 12 enters the cage and stops the brake shoe at a position above the rail 18. In this state, the brake shoe may be removed for inspection, maintenance or replacement. To release the brake shoe from the raised stop position, the actuator is fully extended and the spring 12 is compressed a little further to the unlocked position. For example, by further compressing 2 mm from the nominal piston stroke of 10 mm, the head 24b is lifted slightly from the fork 34, and the spring load received from the fork 34 is released. Here, the fork 34 may be extracted from the lower portion of the head 24b. The actuator piston may then be retracted and the spring 12 may be extended by the piston stroke distance to engage the brake shoe with the rail.

  The above example is not intended to be limiting and, as illustrated in FIGS. 3a to 3e, if the nominal piston stroke distance is 10 mm, the spring can be compressed by a stroke distance of 10 mm and then further compressed. For example, a further compression of 2 mm is possible, thereby releasing the fork 34 from the bottom of the caging pin head 24b. Similarly, if the spring extends for a travel distance of, for example, 10 mm, the spring should be able to extend for another 2 mm, for example, to adjust for variations in the rise of the rail 12 relative to the rise of the housing 26. Thus, the brake shoe should be able to move vertically, for example in the range of 2 mm up and down, while maintaining a downward force on the rail that provides sufficient braking function to prevent the machine from moving along the rail. Not intended to be limiting, but to illustrate an example of the force exerted by the springs, each spring may have a pressurization capacity of 270 kilonewtons and may have a pressurization capacity of up to about 300 kilonewtons. Thus, the pair of springs provides a pressurizing capacity of 540 kilonewtons. Thus, for two springs, the force required for the two actuators to exercise upward to compress the spring is nominally 540 kilonewtons and up to about 600 kilonewtons. As shown in FIG. 3a, the maximum compression of the spring corresponds to the brake release position of the spring assembly. In the brake release position, the brake shoe is raised 10 mm from the rail, and in the illustrated embodiment, the spring is compressed to near maximum with a 10 mm piston stroke for a spring length of 330 mm.

  In the illustrated embodiment, a 17 mm gap “a” is formed between the bottom portion of the spring holding portion 20 and the base portion 26c of the housing at the brake release position, and the top surface of the caging pin 24 and the bottom surface of the top plate 26a. A gap “c” of 4 mm is formed therebetween, and the extension “d” at the fully extended position is 23 mm, the separation distance “f” between the bottom of the base 26 c and the top surface of the rail 12, and the top plate 26 a The housing and the spring assembly are sized so that the separation distance “g” between the bottom of the upper plate assembly 22 and the upper surface of the upper plate assembly 22 is 57 mm.

  In the brake set position of FIG. 3b, the spring is extended by a nominal travel distance of 10 mm by retracting the actuator piston, resulting in a total of 540 kilonewtons of downward spring force pushing the brake shoe against the rail. Therefore, the gap “a” is reduced to 7 mm, the spring length “b” is correspondingly extended to 340 mm, the gap “c” is extended to 14 mm, the extension “d” of the cylindrical piston is reduced to 13 mm, The clearance “e” between the rail and the brake shoe is reduced to nominal zero. On the other hand, the separation distances “f” and “g” are each 57 mm and do not change. The holding force of the rail brake is a function of the coefficient of friction between the brake shoe and the rail. With a hardened serrated brake shoe, the coefficient of friction may be nominally 0.5, thus providing a holding force along the rail with a pressurization capacity of 270 kilonewtons.

  FIG. 3c illustrates the brake setting position. In this case, for example, the dimensional tolerance of the rail rise is 2 mm upwards, so the nominal rail height is not a 10 mm stroke, and the spring travel is 8 mm. Therefore, the gap “a” is 9 mm, the spring length “b” is 338 mm, the gap “c” is 12 mm, and the extension “d” of the cylindrical piston is 15 mm, and the brake shoe lift is offset by 2 mm upwards. Adjust the rail height tolerance. In this position, the spring force is about 484 kilonewtons.

  FIG. 3d illustrates an example opposite to FIG. 3c. In the brake set position illustrated in FIG. 3d, the rail dimensional tolerance is 2 mm below the nominal rail height, and the spring travel is 12 mm instead of the nominal 10 mm. Thus, the gap “a” is 5 mm, the spring length “b” is 342 mm, the gap “c” is 16 mm, and the extension “d” of the cylindrical piston is 11 mm. The total spring force between the two springs is about 456 kilonewtons. In this example, the maximum operating stroke of the spring is 16 mm and the size of the housing is such that the spring assembly reaches the bottom of the stroke of 17 mm inside the housing.

  In the spring cage position of FIG. 3e, the fork 34 is inserted in the lower portion of the head 24b of the caging pin 24, the actuator 32 is retracted, and the spring 12 is repositioned 2 mm for a spring length “b” of 332 mm. It is stretched. Thereby, the spring is placed in the cage by engaging the head of the caging pin with the fork. Therefore, the gap “a” decreases to 15 mm and the gap “c” increases to 6 mm. The extension “d” of the cylindrical piston retracts to a retract extension of 6 mm, for example.

  As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, many variations and modifications are possible in the practice of the invention in light of the above disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be construed according to the matters set forth in the following claims.

Claims (19)

A rail brake for rail mounted machines that is mounted to move along the rail,
A rigid housing having an upper end and an opposite proximal end that is securely mounted opposite the upper end, the upper end being adapted to be attached to the rail mounted machine The base end portion is a rigid housing disposed close to the upper portion of the rail, and
An upper plate that is spaced apart from and substantially parallel to the lower portion of the upper end portion, and that defines a gap between the upper end portion and the upper plate;
A pedestal of a spring attached between the raised position and the lowered position at the lower part of the upper plate for vertical movement in the housing;
At least one spring mounted between the spring pedestal and the top plate, wherein the at least one spring is compressed when the spring pedestal is in the raised position, and the spring pedestal is A spring that is depressurized when in the lowered position;
At least one brake shoe attached to a lower portion of the pedestal, the brake shoe being disposed on the pedestal opposite to the at least one spring;
At least one selectively actuable actuator, each mounted between said spring pedestal and said proximal end of said housing to support opposite ends, said at least one actuator Is operable between an extended position and a retracted position, in which the pedestal of the spring is in the raised position, and the at least one brake shoe is correspondingly retracted upward, the retracted position Wherein the spring pedestal is in the lowered position and the at least one brake shoe is correspondingly lowered and biased into frictional engagement with the rail;
Rail brake equipped with. The at least one spring is at least one helical coil spring;
Further comprising an elongated caging member;
The caging member has a first end and a second end facing each other,
The caging member is attached to the pedestal of the spring at the first end of the caging member and extends generally parallel to the at least one spring, the second end of the caging member being The second end of the caging member freely moves in the vertical direction through the opening in the upper plate, and the base of the spring moves correspondingly in the housing. , When the spring pedestal is in the raised position, the second end of the caging member projects into the spring-caging position of the gap and selectively moves in the gap. A releasable lock selectively releasably secures the second end of the caging member in the spring-caging position, whereby the second end is secured by the lock; Previous Movement of the caging member and the spring seat is prevented, the brake according to claim 1.   The housing includes a side portion extending between the upper end portion and the base end portion, and at least one of the side portions is open, and the spring base, the upper plate, The brake according to claim 2, wherein at least one spring and / or the at least one actuator is removed.   The brake of claim 3, wherein the at least one brake shoe is removable when the spring pedestal is in the raised position.   The brake of claim 4, wherein the pedestal includes at least one bearing member, and the at least one actuator supports the at least one bearing member.   6. The pedestal moves a brake set distance between the raised and lowered positions, and the at least one actuator actuates a corresponding working distance between the extended and retracted positions. Brakes.   The brake of claim 6, wherein the lock includes a latch member, and the caging member includes a latch receptacle for releasably holding the latch member when the caging member is in the spring-caging position. .   The at least one actuator also selectively raises the pedestal to an unlocked position, the raised position being higher than the raised position, removing a spring load applied by the latch receptacle to the latch member; 8. The brake of claim 7, wherein in the raised position, the latch member is removable from the latch receptacle.   The brake of claim 8, wherein the latch member includes a fork and the latch receiver includes an edge on the caging member.   The brake according to claim 9, wherein the edge is a substantially annular edge.   The brake of claim 10, wherein the edge is formed by a collar on the caging member.   10. A brake according to claim 9, wherein the latch member is elongated and mounted substantially horizontally so as to move horizontally and engage the lower edge of the edge.   The brake of claim 7, comprising at least one spacer, the spacer defining a vertical separation within the gap between the upper end and the top plate.   The brake according to claim 13, wherein the separation distance is substantially equal to a moving distance of the spring base between the lowered position and the raised position.   15. The separation distance is substantially equal to a moving distance of the spring pedestal between the lowered position and the fixed release position, and the at least one caging member can be further raised to release the latch. The brake described in.   The at least one spring is a pair of helical coil springs, the at least one caging member is a pair of elongated shafts, and each axis of the pair of elongated shafts corresponds to the pair of helical coil springs. 16. A brake according to claim 15, wherein the brake extends through a spring.   The brake of claim 16, wherein the latch member includes a fork and the latch receiver includes an edge on the casing.   The at least one bearing member includes a pair of generally opposed bearing members, the bearing member extending perpendicular to the pair of helical coil springs, and the at least one actuator correspondingly The brake of claim 17, wherein the brake is a pair of actuators extending substantially parallel to the pair of helical coils.   The at least one brake shoe is attached to the lower portion of the pedestal between the pair of helical coil springs at substantially equal intervals, and distributes the downward spring force of each spring against the at least one brake shoe substantially equally. The brake according to claim 18.

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